SchoolDesk Articles

This is the SchoolDesk blog/articles section where we'll periodically be posting useful information for all of the teachers, parents, staff and students who use SchoolDesk websites. We hope you all find this information useful and even pass it on to others who can benefit from it as well.

Is your school site starting to look like just a box of "boxes" just piled up on your page? If so, you can use the different container styles included in the module settings to mix things up a bit and to accent different items on your page to make it more interesting to read and easier to find various things.

There are lots of things that you can do on your SchoolDesk websites to keep things looking attractive, beautiful and easy to use, but one of the quickest and easiest ways to distinguish areas of content from other items on your pages is to simply change the “container” that holds your content.

Containers are those “boxes” around your modules on your page that usually have a module name and a matching colored header area, and sometimes even a small icon or logo at the top left or top right (depending on your specific design). All modules are “contained” in these “boxes”, and can be moved to any of the content areas of your page by placing your mouse over the small down-arrow at the top left corner of any module, or if you change the View Mode of your website to Layout by clicking the Layout button at the top left of your page, you can even “drag & drop” your modules all over your page to arrange them in any order or into any of the panes on your page. Modules and their content can also be modified by clicking SETTINGS icon at the top right corner of each module (not the PAGE Settings at the top left of the page!).

At the moment, there are 3 container styles that you can chose from to set your content apart: Block, Article and Transparent. By default, most school websites have the “Block” container, which is usually the most decorative container type that also has a solid “header” area that matches the rest of your site. Since the Block container style is automatically applied to all modules added to your pages unless you change it manually, things can sometimes start to look a bit too much alike, cluttered and plain unless you alter the change the container style. The Article container is a more basic style, usually with a different but complimentary color to the rest of the site that will create a distinct difference among the other containers on the page. The last container style is called ‘Transparent’, and it hides all visual elements of the containers so that your content can be on the page all by itself, which is often good for large images & logos, as well as certain modules like calendars, iframes and others.

To select a different container style, or to even turn the containers off completely, just click the SETTINGS icon at the top right of the module (not the PAGE). Once in the settings area, you will see 3 tabs in which to manage the various settings of that particular module. The first tab is the General Settings tab where you can manage who gets to see the module or edit the module. This comes in very handy if you want to only display that module to a specific your or group of users (roles). One of the most important things to remember on this tab is to NEVER, EVER, EVER click the box in the right hand ‘Edit’ column to allow All Users to EDIT your module because it will do exactly as it implies…ANYONE can then edit the content in that module without even having to log in! Obviously that could be a VERY dangerous thing, so be VERY careful about NEVER checking the ‘All Users’ EDIT box unless you really want this to happen!

The second tab is the ModuleSettings area specific to the functions of that particular module type. It differs widely depending on the type of module you are using since each module has its own unique set of features and functions. If you are not familiar with the settings or options of any module, make sure to pay a visit to this second tab to see what other things you can do with that particular module…you might be surprised!

The third tab, called Appearance, is where you can modify various appearance items such as the dates to publish and expire the module, RSS and printing options for the module, and of course, the Container style for it as well. Just drop-down box under ‘Module Container” a choose your option. If you don’t like how it looks, just go back to it and change it again. And if you still don’t like the way the container looks, you can just turn it off completely UN-checking the box beside “Display Container”.

If you find that you like a particular container other than the default style, you can go to the ‘Site Settings’ of your website (top RIGHT corner of the page) and change the default style of the ENTIRE SITE to your favorite one, or you can even change the default on a page-by-page basis in your page ‘Settings’ (top LEFT corner of the page) to change all the containers on just that ONE SPECIFIC PAGE to the style of your choice.

In the end, don’t be afraid to experiment and “play” with the various container options and placement on your page so that you’ll be able to help set off any specific items or content in your favorite style so that it doesn’t look like just a bunch of “boxes” all over your page.

As always, if you need any help or just have a quick question, just click the “HELP” link at the top RIGHT corner of your page to see screenshots, downloadable PDF documents, videos, and even Live Help from any of our support folks.

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